1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bending tube for an endoscope, which is provided in an insertion portion of an endoscope, an endoscope including the bending tube for an endoscope and a method for manufacturing the bending tube for an endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, endoscopes including an insertion portion that can be inserted into a subject/object that cannot directly be viewed by an observer are used in order to observe the subject/object. For enhancement in insertability of the insertion portion, some of the endoscopes are provided with a bending portion, which is bent via manual operation.
In recent years, in order to insert the insertion portion into a limited space of a subject/object for, e.g., observation, various ingenuities have been taken to enhance the insertability of the insertion portion, and for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 9-201328 discloses a technique of an endoscope with a reduced diameter of a part that can have a maximum diameter in a bending portion and reduced irregularities in an outer surface of the bending portion.